Return to *North Korean Studies*
Ms.
CHOI Woo-young (Aug. 31, Seoul) together with some ten South Korean citizens whose
family members have been abducted to North Korea organized a demonstration in
front of the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel. Sheraton Walker Hill is where North
Koreans are staying during their visit to Seoul. Ms. CHOI is President of the
Family Action to Rescue Abductees in North Korea and daughter of Mr. CHOI
Jong-suk (56), who was captain of the ship Dongjin 27, abducted by North Korea
near Paekliong Island in the West Sea in January, 1987. Holding a picture of
her father Ms. CHOI said: “I ask General Secretary KIM Jong-il to return my
father.”
“Abductees
should be sent back to their families or at least some announcement should be
made as to whether they are alive or dead. It is only fair when defectors to
North Korea get to see their family,” says CHOI. She added: “407 of the
454 abductees are civilian fishermen, who have nothing to do with political
ideology. I don’t understand why they are not let free to go back home.”
Among
the demonstrators was Ms. LEE Jung-soon (52), wife of Rev. AHN Seung-woon who
was taken to North Korea in Yanbian in July 1995, while doing missionary work.
Ms. LEE asserts that Rev. AHN was abducted, contrary to the NK government’s
claim that he defected of his own will, because “the person who committed
the abduction was arrested and served his sentence.” She pleaded to have her
husband back.
Mr. CHOI Jun-hwa (71) and Ms. LEE Dong-kum (71) whose son, CHOI Seung-min (41), disappeared in 1977 in Hongdo, South Cholla Province said: “A spy who turned himself in testified that our son was one of the trainers” and added: “our government’s reaction was to tell us to call the police should he return.” The old couple demands to know whether their son is alive or dead. The Chosun Ilbo, August 16, 2000.
By
Kathryn Tolbert and Joohee Cho, Washington Post Foreign Service Monday ,
August 21, 2000 ; A12
SEOUL—On
Dec. 11, 1969, a successful South Korean restaurant owner was flying to Seoul
from the eastern city of Kangnung, where he had gone to visit a sick employee.
He never made it home. A North Korean agent hijacked the plane, forcing it to
land in the North.
But
for Chang’s family and the families of about 450 other people—most of them
fishermen—who were abducted or captured by North Korea after the war ended
in 1953, the reunions in Seoul and Pyongyang were a painful reminder that they
have been left out.
Lee
Soon Nam, Chang Ji Young’s wife, cried day and night watching the live
coverage of the reunions, according to her son, Chang Il Suk, 34. “She
became pessimistic again and couldn’t stop crying,” the son said. “I
think all the pain she kept deep inside suddenly burst out in the past two
days. She couldn’t eat and on Saturday was taken to the hospital,
dehydrated.”
Choi
Woo Young stood outside the Seoul hotel where North Korean visitors were
staying, holding a photo of her father, a fisherman who was on the boat Dong
Jin 27 when it was captured by the North Koreans on Jan. 15, 1987. “I
don’t understand why South Korea is sending back the ex-prisoners who were
spies, but my father, who is an ordinary citizen, cannot come home,” she
said. “What is the purpose of the sunshine policy? It is to shine sun on
people who have been hurt [by the division of the country]. So how come not on
people like us?”
Choi
formed a group of families of those abducted to try to pressure the
government.
Choi
is afraid for her father because she heard last year that he was in a camp for
political prisoners, living in harsh conditions without adequate food. But
North Korea insists that no one is being held against his will and that South
Koreans in the North are living a good life.
Chang
Il Suk said he heard through unofficial channels that his father, the
restaurateur, was living well. “If that’s so, I did not want to make a big
scene, so I was waiting for the right time. I think this is the right time.
After the summit, I realized that Kim Jong Il is not a devil or bad guy as
I’ve been taught,” Chang said. “I was excited that North Korea after all
was a place where human beings live, so that gave me hope.”
South
Koreans who returned from the reunions in Pyongyang spoke of a clean city with
erratic electricity. They said relatives were cautious in giving out
information, and praised Kim Jong Il at every opportunity.
“I
think North Korea has opened a lot. My sisters also confirmed that things have
changed there,” said Chang Jung Hee. “But whenever we were sitting at a
table and a North Korean reporter put a microphone in front of them, they kept
saying the usual thing about ‘the great general,’ and they were seeking my
approval. I just said, ‘Yes I agree this is all thanks to your great
general, but also to President Kim Dae Jung as well.’ Overall I was afraid
of saying anything. It was scary.”
Chang
was shivering as she waited for her baggage at the Seoul airport on Friday,
wearing only a thin top. “I gave all my clothes to my sisters,” she said.
In their goodbyes on Friday, the mostly elderly Koreans selected for the
reunions were crying out to each other that they’d meet again “after
reunification.” But unless a regular meeting site is established that can be
used freely, most will not see each other again. There are too many others
waiting for a first meeting.
“I
will come back again, without fail,” Kim Ok Bae told her 87-year-old mother
before leaving Seoul. Her mother cried back to her, “But when? After I
die?”
Lee
Jee Yeon, 52, a television and radio personality was reunited last week with
her brother, Lee Rae Song. “When I didn’t have any news about him, that
hurt. But knowing that he’s alive and fine but he can’t be with us, this
hurts almost even more,” she said. “The things that I wanted to ask him
but forgot to keep popping into my mind. There were so many. I look at the
telephone and I think, I can call anywhere in the world, but why not to
him?”
She videotaped her brother singing the songs they sang as children. “My sister’s husband called me this morning and said she has been listening to the tape and not eating or sleeping. All she does is cry, listening to the tape.” Lee was the host of a television program in 1983 that helped families in South Korea find relatives who were lost during the war. She said she realized that listening to other people’s stories and personally experiencing it was “like the difference between heaven and earth.” “I thought I knew what it would be like,” she said. “It’s indescribable.”
Леонид Петров. «Сеульский Вестник», №47б 1-30 июня 2000 (in Russian)
С Владимиром Давыдовым я познакомился в марте прошлого годаво время своей научной командировки в Корейский автономный округ Китайской Народной Республики. Коренастый круглолицый мужчина средних летс экзотическими для этих мест усами сразу же выделяется из корейско-китайской толпы на улицаых города Яньцзи – административного центра округа. Его здесь знают все – от мала до велика, но зовут его здесь по-корейски – Пка Сын Мин, или по-китайски – Пяо Шенмин. Потомок сибирской ветви дворянского рода Давыдовых, которые после декабрьских событий 1825 года на Сенатской площади Санкт-Петербурга были лишены своего знатного титула и осели в Омске, теперь служит провинциальным чиновником во веншнеторговой компании КНР по эскпорту и импорту. Владимир – китайский гражданин и единственный официально зарегистрированный во всём автономном округе русский по национальности....
The Korea Herald reported that while many former DPRK spies will return to the DPRK Sept. 2 to permanently reunite with their relatives, some others will likely remain in the ROK in order to prevent more families from being divided. In another step toward reconciliation, the ROK is set to repatriate 63 DPRK spies who have refused to renounce their belief in Communism after five decades behind bars.
About 23 diehard Communists, however, have opted to remain here, giving up a hero's welcome and the comfort of living where their heart belongs for the sake of keeping their families together. They cannot easily part with their families in the ROK, who have endured hardships all their lives as the spouses or children of DPRK spies. (Kim Min-hee, "SOME N.K. SPIES CHOOSE FAMILY OVER HOME," Seoul, 08/23/00)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the ROK government will establish a bureau to handle issues relating to the repatriation of POWs and kidnapped ROK citizens believed to be still alive in the DPRK. The new bureau will be put under the Ministry of Unification and will begin work as early as September. (Lee Yong-jong, "GOV'T TO OPEN NEW POW DEPARTMENT IN UNIFICATION MINISTRY," Seoul, 08/23/00)
Joongang Ilbo reported that the 151 separated family members from the DPRK who will be reunited with their relatives in the ROK will be led Ryu Mi-young, widow of Choi Deuk-shin, the former foreign affairs minister of the ROK who left the country in self-imposed exile in 1976. Ryu is the current chairwoman of the Central Committee for Chondoism's Chongu Party - her husband was the former head of Chondoism, a traditional religion indigenous to Korea. Ryu is counted among the upper echelon in DPRK society and reportedly lives a privileged life. (Lee Young-jong, "NORTH KOREAN DELEGATION TO BE LED BY FORMER SOUTH DEFECTOR," Seoul, 08/09/00)
The Korea Herald reported that when the ROK and the DPRK exchanged their respective lists of 100 participants for the inter-Korean reunion of separated families, DPRK observers saw a sharp contrast between the two rosters. While most of the ROK citizens slated to visit Pyongyang are ordinary individuals, many of those coming to Seoul from the DPRK are famed artists, scholars and scientists.
ROK government officials reacted uneasily to the DPRK's carefully calculated list, which demonstrates the DPRK authorities' sense of competition in their dealings with the ROK. They said that the roster shows that the DPRK makes politics its top priority, even in promoting a humanitarian event such as the family reunions.
The DPRK also named a well-known ROK defector as the head of delegation. An ROK ministry official said, "It is clear that North Korea is attempting to show that all South Korean defectors live comfortably in the North thanks to what it calls 'General Kim Jong-il's favors. The decision was neither predictable nor appropriate. But the government decided to accept it in order not to jeopardize the family reunions and to make them regular and continuous events in the future." (Kim Ji-ho,"P'YANG'S POLITICAL APPROACH TO FAMILY REUNIONS SPARKS CRITICISM IN SOUTH," Seoul, 08/11/00)
The Korea Times reported that the ROK dismissed a DPRK press report on August 9 claiming that it blocked a long-term prisoner from returning to the DPRK as "groundless." The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the ROK Unification Ministry and the ROK Red Cross society had forced the man to "sign a paper giving assurances that he would not go to the North."
According to the KCNA, the ROK action can never be justified, as it "downplays the success of the historic Pyongyang meeting, goes against the spirit of the North-South joint declaration and puts a brake on the efforts for inter-Korean reconciliation and unity and the country's reunification." An ROK ministry official said that the DPRK report was misleading as it exaggerated only a limited part of confirming whether he intended to return to the DPRK.
ROK officials said that the 83-year-old man will be sent to the DPRK along with other prisoners next month. The official said, "On August 2, Han Chong-ho, 83, told authorities he would not go to North Korea, but changed his mind at the request of his son Yong-su. Therefore, we launched another check to determine whether he really intended to go back and finally he signed a document confirming his will to return." ("SEOUL DISMISSES NK REPORTS ON LONG-TERM PRISONER'S RETURN," Seoul, 08/10/00)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson visited Seoul on the 10th to survey the human rights situation in South Korea. She mentioned that the North Korean refugee problem will be discussed in depth at the UNHCHR meeting in September next month. Atthe press conference held in Shilla Hotel that evening, High Commissioner Robinson acknowledged the large reaction among the South Korean public to the problems of North Korean escapees and the campaign to collect signatures from concerned citizens, in which 8 million people have participated. She also noted the concern for repatriation of North Koreans expressed by the South Korean NGOs, and commented on the importance of a comprehensive assessment of the new data presented to her during this trip. She declined to comment on the change of human rights situation in North Korea after the June summit on account that there was a need to create an atmosphere for constructive discussion. Ms.Robinson will leave Seoul on the 11th after meeting Mr. BAHN Ki-mun, vice foreign affairs minister.
Mr.
PITTS.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of the numerous individuals being
forgotten in the negotiations between the United States and the hard-line
dictatorship in North Korea, those 200,000 plus people who suffer horrifying
hardships in the prison camps throughout North Korea.
Despite
the fact that the leaders of North Korea refuse to admit that these
concentration camps exist, they are real. Individuals that I have met with who
have escaped from these camps have said that they want the world to know of
the evil that is perpetrated there, even against children. One young man that
I met with was imprisoned at the age of 10 because his grandfather was
arrested, so they imprisoned the whole family. The North Korean regime
incarcerates three generations of a family due to one generation's crime. What
type of government imprisons a 10-year-old boy for his grandfather's crime?
Certainly not a civilized one. Another woman I met with described the terrible
torture she endured because she was honest and would not embezzle material
goods for her boss. As a result, her boss concocted false crimes, she was
arrested, taken to a prison camp and routinely tortured to the point of losing
consciousness. As soon as she lost consciousness, the security officials would
pour water on her face, revive her and begin the torture process over again,
all of this for 14 months. Then she was sentenced to 13 years in a
resocialization camp.
Let
me read some excerpts of testimony from torture survivors and escapees
regarding the horrendous pain and suffering at the hands of this brutal and
repressive regime, a regime that our administration is now looking to appease:
`Officers
treated us like animals. They never explained to us what to do but
communicated with the prisoners by whipping, kicking and cursing. While
prisoners were being beaten, they couldn't stop working or look back at the
officers. If a prisoner moaned or tried to avoid getting hit, she was put into
solitary confinement, the worst punishment in prison. The solitary confinement
cell was only high enough to allow a person to sit on the floor. Concrete
thorns stuck out of the walls so the prisoner could not lean against them. The
person could only sit and not move for many days. If prisoners were consigned
to solitary confinement during the winter, their legs became paralyzed.'
`The
different forms of torture are too numerous to recount. Sometimes they put a
wooden stick with sharp edges behind my knees, make me kneel, and then
trampled my body with their heavy boots. At other times, they would hang me by
the shackles on my wrists, high enough so that I was forced to stand on
tiptoe. At night water would fill the solitary cell up to my stomach,
depriving me of any sleep. During the long hours underwater my body would
gradually swell up, making it difficult for me to keep my balance. If I fell,
the guards kicked me until I scrambled up again in extreme pain and fatigue.'
`The
prisoners in the export factory were treated even worse than those in the
other factories. Our days were a series of unendurable labor. Getting kicked
and slapped was common. The female prisoners got used to an officer's kick or
slap on the face. After a few years of little food, no sunshine, constant
beatings and demanding work, prisoners began to lose the strength in their
backbones. As the spine weakened, ligaments started popping out at the back of
their necks. The prisoners became ugly like beasts. The export production was
the fruit of unbelievable human abuse. These exports went to Japan, to Poland,
to France.'
I
would ask, do we want to participate in this as well? Let me end with this
quote: `When pregnant women came to prison, they were forced to abort their
babies. Poison was injected into the babies cuddled in their mother's wombs.
After the injection, the pregnant woman suffered tremendous pain until the
babies were stillborn about 24 hours later. Medical officers walked around the
pregnant women and kicked their swollen bellies if they screamed or moaned.'
Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on. These are a few excerpts of people that I have met. We must not forget these people. We must fight to stop the painful, horrifying torture and the other human rights abuses the North Korean people are enduring at the hands of the brutal dictatorship ruling that country.
The Daily Yomiuri reported that the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon/Chosensoren) is preparing to send a group of elderly association members in Japan to the DPRK as early as August 15.
The visit, if realized, would be the first of its kind since the Korean Peninsula was divided. An official said that the decision follows the agreement reached at a ministerial meeting held by the DPRK and the ROK in Seoul on July 31 to allow Chongryon members to visit their hometowns in the ROK. Chongryon First Vice Chairman So Man-sul said that the association is planning to send the first delegation on August 15, the anniversary of the end of the Pacific War and the liberation of the Korean homeland.
The association's prefecture headquarters have received a flood of inquiries from people wishing to take part in the first delegation. So said, "First-generation (Koreans living in Japan) should be given top priority." The association plans to hold talks on the visit with ROK officials through the ROK embassy in Tokyo. ("CHONGRYON PLANS VISIT," 08/02/2000)
Director Shinn Sang-okk, chairman of the feature film jury for PIFAN 2000, is recognized as one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers in Korean movie history.
From his debut in 1952 with "The Evil Night" to his ongoing work with his wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, Shinn has made immeasurable contributions to the domestic film industry. He also gained notoriety for the 10 years he spent in North Korea, where he was forced to make numerous films after being kidnapped by North Korean agents. In the years following his subsequent escape from Pyongyang, Shinn moved to the United States, where he continues to work in the movie field.
Six South Korean soldiers were listed as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War, the Defense Ministry said yesterday. Two of them are presumed to have been sent to North Korea and are likely still living there, it said. The ministry identified them as Ahn Hak-soo, an Army staff sergeant sent to the North in March 1967, and Park Song-yol, an Army sergeant sent there in November 1965.
"Our latest official tally is down from the initial 1994 figure of eight MIAs, including three in the North," said Kim Seung-uol, director general of the ministry's personnel and welfare bureau.
Also see S.Korean POWs sent to North Korea, Vietnam War veteran says
The Korea Herald reported that among the 138 families on the list that the DPRK relayed to the ROK on Wednesday, 126 families were informed that more than one of their relatives in the DPRK is alive. The DPRK plans to hand over additional information about DPRK families of the other 62 ROK citizens by Tuesday.
After receiving additional information, the ROK government will narrow down the number to a final 100 who would visit Pyongyang on August 15-18 to meet their kin. Although the ROK has yet to decide on the criteria for choosing the final 100 visitors, officials have said that the government would give priority to people who have spouses, parents, children and siblings in the DPRK over the aged. (Kim Ji-ho, "EXPECTATIONS RUN HIGH FOR THOSE CONFIRMING WHEREABOUTS OF THEIR NORTH KOREAN KIN," Seoul, 07/28/00) and The Korea Times (Lee Soo-jeong, "SEOUL REVEALS LIST OF RELATIVES OF S. KOREAN REUNION CANDIDATES," Seoul, 07/27/00)
The Associated Press reported that the DPRK said that it had found 849 relatives for 138 people living in the ROK, and the ROK said it had located 1,667 relatives for 198 people from the DPRK. The DPRK list included 109-year-old Koo In-hyun, the mother of 72 year-old Chang Yi-yoon, a laborer who lives in Pusan. Chang said, "It's unbelievable that at that age, my mother is alive. It's like a dream. If I meet her, I will make a deep bow and hold her in a long, warm embrace." (Kyong-Hwa Seok, "KOREA FAMILIES ANTICIPATE REUNIONS," Seoul, 7/27/00)
The Korea Times reported that ROK officials said on July 18 that in contrast to the ROK method which selected candidates hoping to be reunited with their relatives next month randomly through a computerized draw, the DPRK seemed to have picked its candidates on the basis of their social standing and ideology. An anonymous ROK Unification Ministry official said, "If you look at the North's list, you can see a considerable number of prominent people, which shows that the North has made the list out of careful consideration. They appear to have selected the well-off who are unlikely to be shaken or influenced by their visit to South Korea."
Among the 200 DPRK candidates are many prominent academics and artists, including Professor Jo Ju-gyong of Kim Il Sung University and Jong Chang-mo from Mansudae Art Studio. The ROK National Red Cross revealed that out of 200 DPRK citizens seeking to find their relatives in the ROK, more than 170 were confirmed to still have living relatives in the country. (Lee Soo-jeong, "NORTH SELECTS CANDIDATES FOR REUNION ON BASIS OF IDEOLOGY, STATUS," Seoul, 07/19/00) and The Korea Times (Park Yoon-bae, "MOST FAMILIES CONFIRM NORTH KOREAN CANDIDATES FOR REUNION," Seoul, 07/19/00)
South Koreans Vie for Slots to Visit North
SEOUL –– Kim Han Jin was hot, tired and very angry. He banged his cane hard on the floor, over and over, shouting at a Red Cross volunteer as loudly as his 78-year-old, bent-over frame could manage. "What do you mean, 100? One hundred is nothing! You call this a reunion?"
Next month, for only the second time since the Korean War ended in 1953, government-arranged reunions will take place between North and South Korean families. One hundred people from each side--many of them in their seventies and eighties--will cross the border to meet their now middle-aged or elderly children, brothers or sisters, or even the wives or husbands they once had.
Kim left his wife, daughter and son when he fled to South Korea in 1950 at the start of the war. He is not among the lucky few who will be reunited with family, albeit briefly, in one of the few places in the world where people with blood ties living across a border from each other cannot directly send letters or make telephone calls.... (By Kathryn Tolbert Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, July 17, 2000; Page A10)
Северокорейский перебежчик был задержан в ночь на среду российскими пограничниками на границе с КНР в Приморье. Как сообщили корреспонденту "Сегодня" источники в Тихоокеанском региональном управлении ФПС РФ, он был пойман при попытке переправиться в Россию на участке 2-й заставы 58-го погранотряда в районе перехода "Сосновая падь". Оборванного, обмороженного и страшно исхудавшего человека задержать было нетрудно, поскольку он не мог быстро двигаться и не оказал никакого сопротивления. Остатки одежды на нем буквально рассыпались, с лица сходили лоскуты обмороженной кожи. Краткое разбирательство показало, что задержанный говорит только по-корейски, причем на диалекте, распространенном в КНДР. У перебежчика не оказалось при себе никаких документов, кроме того, выяснилось, что он душевнобольной. Учитывая все эти обстоятельства, сотрудники ТОРУ ФПС РФ напрямую обратились к китайской стороне, откуда пришел этот человек, и, предельно упростив процедуру, уже в 12.30 утра передали его китайским пограничникам. По всей видимости, там он тоже не задержится надолго, и в ближайшее время будет выдан властям КНДР. (ЕВГЕНИЯ ЛЕНЦ, Владивосток, "Сегодня" 16 Марта 2000 года in Russian)
Chosun Ilbo reported that a report released on July 11 showed that the number of DPRK defectors coming to the ROK in the first half of the year doubled to 115. The record showed that 69 people came to the ROK in the April-June period, compared to 46 during the January-March period. An official from the ROK Ministry of Unification said, "Considering more defectors enter Korea in the later part of the year, there will be more than 200 defectors by the end of this year." (Kim In-gu, "NK DEFECTOR NUMBERS DOUBLE OVER LAST YEAR," Seoul, 07/11/00)
Six Korean Deported Refugees Now in Jail
Six of the seven North Korean refugees who were deported by the mainland to their home country in December in a highly publicised case are serving jail terms, a Seoul official said. The case drew international attention after UN officials recognised them as refugees and asked Beijing to treat them accordingly. (The UN accused the mainland of violating international refugee laws by deporting the seven North Koreans, who had been expected to face severe reprisals at home).
A sixth refugee was set free after deportation because he is a minor, South Korean Foreign Minister Lee Joung-binn said in testimony before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. Mr Lee told the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that South Korea confirmed the status of the seven refugees in a check with the mainland and other countries. Without elaborating, he said six were serving ''short'' jail terms. South Korean government officials said the seven North Koreans, from 13 to 30 years old, entered the mainland in November to seek food.
They were later
caught by Russian guards while crossing the border from the mainland.
Joongang Ilbo reported that, according to DPRK defectors in the ROK, the welcome party in the DPRK was staged. An unnamed DPRK defector described the 13th World Student Festival of Pyongyang, a now legendary grand event held in 1989 and said, "The entire city of Pyongyang was transformed into a 'huge stage' solely for the festival. Actions were strictly regulated under the firm direction of Jang Song-taek, brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il and the then Party Youth Business director. The city did an excellent job producing the ideal mood for Pyongyang's big celebration." Another defector stated, "Preparations to receive the South Korean delegation started a month ago; the outskirts of Pyongyang were blocked off, effectively restricting the traffic of local citizens. If soldiers in uniform are caught loitering in the city both they and their superiors face dishonorable discharges, an extremely severe punishment in North Korea....
The North has expended a massive effort to prepare for President Kim Dae-jung's welcome event." DPRK experts believe that the grand celebration by the DPRK was directed by Yang Man-gil, head of the DPRK People's Committee of Pyongyang, under orders from the DPRK Party Organization and DPRK Guidance Department to rally the citizens. (Lee Dong-hyun, "BEHIND THE SCENES OF NK'S HUGE WELCOME PARTY," Seoul, 06/15/00)
Reuters reported that DPRK refugees in the PRC said that it will take a lot more than DRPK's recent tentative opening before they will go back. One 45-year-old refugee who has lived in the PRC since last year stated, "If I am caught, I have resolved to kill myself and I carry a cyanide tablet all the time. There would be no reason at all to live."
A 60-year-old widow whose husband starved to death said that the summit might bring the two Koreas closer, "But it's hard to see life in North Korea getting much better any time soon. It will take a change of economic policy in North Korea, and probably a new political system, before I can go back." She added that the government had told people that the UN, acting on US orders, was withholding food aid to the DPRK. (Paul Eckert, "N.KOREA OPENING NO DRAW FOR SCARED EXILES," Tumen, 6/12/00)
The New York Times reported that private relief groups working on the border with the PRC get requests for food and medical help from towns, schools and even labor camps deep inside the DPRK. The article added that DPRK refugees in the PRC who have enough money can send for their relatives to join them. An unnamed Western scholar stated, "The people who have survived this far have done so because they are physiologically hearty and also because they have developed coping mechanisms." The scholar added, "The statistics can look great, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there is more to eat."
According to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health that is soon to be published by the National Academy of Sciences, deaths peaked at about 50 per 1,000 population in 1996 and 1997 and are about half that now. The study also found that more than half of DPRK refugees in 1995 said that government-supplied grain was their family's primary source of food, while two years later the proportion was 3.9 percent. At a recent news conference in Geneva, David Morton, the World Food Program's (WFP) representative in the DPRK, noted "a slight improvement" in food supplies and harvests over all, but said that certain groups and areas were "still very, very short of food." He added, "We see very little result from all that effort that [relief agencies] put in, whether it's planting food or trees or working in the towns and the cities." One study, co-sponsored by WFP, found that longstanding malnutrition had left 62 percent of DPRK children small for their age. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, "FAMINE IN NORTH KOREA CREATES STEADY HUMAN FLOW INTO CHINA," Tumen 6/10/00)
Чемпионом по убеганию можно считать простого украинского туриста, которого занесла нелегкая в места, где сала и горилки вовсе не нюхали, -- в Северную Корею эпохи железного маршала и любимого отца, дорогого товарища Ким Ир Сена. Достопримечательностей в социалистической Корее много, но все они социалистические. В качестве таковой туристов ознакомили с демаркационной линией, до сих пор заменяющей полноправную госграницу... (in Russian)
Chosun Ilbo reported that the families of the "Tongjin" fishing boat crew, who were abducted to the DPRK near Paekryong-do Island on the West Sea in January 1987, decided to file a class action against the ROK Government for compensation. Choi Woo-young, the eldest daughter of the Tongjin's fisherman, Choi Jong-seok, said that her family and the families of other abducted fishermen on the Tongjin fishing boat decided to request indemnity for the psychological and economical damages they went through for the last 13 years. Choi contended that the Tongjin's crew could have returned home safely had the ROK Government not insisted in bringing the eleven family members of the DPRK nationals Kim Man-chul to the ROK. Kim Man-chul had escaped from the northeastern port of Chongjin in the DPRK and was first discovered drifting by Japanese Maritime Police off Mikuni Port in February 1987 and the whole family of 11 were eventually persuaded to defect to the ROK via Taiwan. (Shin Dong-heun, "FAMILIES OF KIDNAPPED FISHERMEN TO SUE GOVERNMENT," Seoul, 06/08/00)
North Korean Defectors in Trouble (1) 12/09 20:13
North Korean Defectors in Trouble (2) 12/10 18:27
North Korean Refugees in Trouble (3) 12/12 19:14
North Korean Defectors in Trouble (4) 12/13 19:06
North Korean Defectors in Trouble (5) 12/14 20:01
На Дальнем Востоке массово оседают и через фиктивные браки, через покупку недвижимости легализуются китайцы. Если дальше так пойдет -- будет невозможно перейти к купле-продаже земли: эти люди скупят дальневосточные земли. Интересно, что транзит северокорейских нелегалов через Китай в Россию китайские власти при этом пресекают. Южная Корея к этому относится болезненно -- просит, чтоб мы принимали северян и переправляли на Юг. Но мы просто не выдержим, если через нас ринется еще один огромный поток. С нас хватит тех, что есть... (in Russian)
The Associated Press reported that ROK citizens hope that the inter- Korean summit might lead to reconciliation, permitting negotiations for the release of fishermen and hundreds more believed to be abducted by the DPRK. In 1987, the ROK rejected the offer to exchange a dozen ROK fishermen who were captured by the DPRK navy that year for a family of 11 DPRK citizens who had defected to the ROK, and the DPRK responded by accusing the crewmen of spying and refusing to repatriate them. Choi Woo-young, who heads the Family Action to Rescue Abductees in North Korea and is the daughter of one of the fishermen, said, "My long-dead hope was rekindled when I heard of the summit." The ROK believes that the DPRK has abducted 3,756 ROK citizens since 1953 and returned all but 454. (Seok Kyong-Hwa, "S. KOREANS HOPE FOR NEWS OF LOVED ONES," Seoul, 6/9/00)
The Baltimore Sun reported that the experiences of DPRK defectors in the ROK demonstrates the wide gaps that exist between the two Koreas that would have to be closed to achieve reunification. One DPRK defector who goes by the false name of Rhyu Chi-sung stated, "It was such a huge culture shock.... The pace of information is so fast, I can't keep up." The ROK Unification Ministry opened a training center this year for DPRK defectors, which one official described as a "small testing ground" for eventual reunification. (Frank Langfitt, "TWO KOREAS MUST REACH ACROSS WIDE GULF OF CULTURES," Seoul, 06/09/00)
The Christian Science Monitor reported that Kongdan Oh at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia said that the PRC is cracking down on DPRK refugees. Oh said that the refugees "now face round-ups by the Chinese and punishment, imprisonment or worse if they are repatriated." She added that the DPRK government "need scapegoats to punish as models to scare the rest of the North Korean populace." An international aid worker said that in the past several months, PRC security forces have swept through border areas to find and detain DPRK refugees, and that several thousand have been returned to the DPRK. He added that when DPRK leader Kim Jong-il visited the PRC, "North Korea applied strong pressure on the Chinese to repatriate the refugees, and the Chinese did their best to comply."
The Christian Science Monitor reported that Kongdan Oh at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia said that the PRC is cracking down on DPRK refugees. Oh said that the refugees "now face round-ups by the Chinese and punishment, imprisonment or worse if they are repatriated." She added that the DPRK government "need scapegoats to punish as models to scare the rest of the North Korean populace." An international aid worker said that in the past several months, PRC security forces have swept through border areas to find and detain DPRK refugees, and that several thousand have been returned to the DPRK. He added that when DPRK leader Kim Jong-il visited the PRC, "North Korea applied strong pressure on the Chinese to repatriate the refugees, and the Chinese did their best to comply." The aid worker stated, "The North Koreans who have contact with religious figures from the South are subject to the harshest punishments if they are caught and returned." An unnamed senior ROK official said that the ROK "is pressing the Chinese government to grant the refugees safe passage to South Korea." He added that ROK President Kim Dae Jung "will definitely try to reach a solution to the refugee question" at next week's summit, but that the DPRK is unlikely to agree anytime soon to stop seeking repatriation. An unnamed PRC official in Beijing stated, "We have a treaty with North Korea that obligates us to return North Koreans who enter China illegally. And lately, the North has been stepping up demands that we repatriate the North Koreans - especially those who are party members or political criminals." He stated, however, that "some moderates in the Communist Party realize that returning these refugees is hurting China's international image, and they are recommending a rethinking of the refugee policy." He added that when PRC officials met with Kim Jong-il, "They hinted that if the North adopted Chinese-style market reforms, it could feed its people and stop the refugee flow." He argued, "If we grant political asylum to one refugee today, there could be thousands or millions of North Koreans who might flood China for the same opportunity." He added, however, "Right now, we have so many border guards and patrols that few North Koreans are likely to make it past their own sentries and ours." (Kevin Platt, "N. KOREA GETS CHINA'S COOPERATION ON REFUGEE RETURNS," Beijing, 06/09/00, 7)
The Sankei Shimbun reported that the Sankei Shimbun obtained a report on an alleged DPRK secret underground site for nuclear material production. The article said that according to the report, the DPRK has secretly produced uranium at Jonma Nuclear Power Plant in Mt. Jonma in Pyongando since 1989. The article said that although that the amount of uranium initially produced was 1.3 grams a day, the simplest calculation tells us that approximately 5 kg have already been produced. The report also said that although there have been rumors about the DPRK's secret production of nuclear material in Pakchon or Pyongsan, the report on the facility in Mt. Jonma is the most detailed one. The article added that the report was released last year, is based on the testimony of former DPRK People's Army official who defected from the DPRK and had been detained by the PRC, and that ROK sources suspect that the PRC already sent the officer back to the DPRK. (Katsuhiro Kuroda, "DPRK'S UNDERGROUND SITE FOR NUCLEAR MATERIAL PRODUCTION IN JONMASAN," Seoul, 06/09/2000)
Last month a man named Kim Young Dal was found stabbed to death in his apartment near Osaka, Japan. Although most people know nothing of this man, I guarantee that anyone involved in or who has knowledge of the horrible situation along the North Korea-China border is deeply upset. His death is being felt across the world by a group of people who share one thing: a deep concern for the starving North Koreans who have fled to China seeking food. In my opinion, there's little doubt North Korea is behind the murder of Kim.
I had the opportunity to meet Kim when I moderated a panel on what
nongovernmental organizations are doing to help the North Korean people. Kim
presented information about his work to the panel held during December's first
International Conference on North Korean Human Rights sponsored by the
Seoul-based Citizens Alliance to Help Political Prisoners in North Korea. Kim
was one of our heroes. He headed the Rescue the North Korean People-Urgent
Action Network, an organization that provided direct aid to starving North
Koreans. He risked his life carrying out this work, and it was this work that
probably led to his murder.... (See the Washington Post, By
Suzanne Scholte
Friday, June 2, 2000; Page A33)
TOKYO –– A critic of the North Korean regime found with a bloody kitchen knife beside his corpse has left a murder mystery for the Japanese police: Was it a lovers' quarrel or the cloak-and-dagger work of a North Korean agent?
Some of his colleagues say the death of Kim Young Dal in Amagasaki, an industrial town near Osaka, has revealed the shadowy reach of the Pyongyang government into Japan. Others scoff at the theory. But the mystery has thrown light on the furtive inner world of Korean politics played out among the sizable Korean population in Japan.
The Chosen Soren, the largest North Korean residents' association in Japan, celebrate North Korean holidays, help funnel money to North Korea, send their children to schools with pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on the wall, and--their critics charge--help North Korean spies operate in Japan.... (See the Washington Post, By Doug Struck Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, June 1, 2000; Page A21)
The New York Times reported that PRC police in recent months have sharply increased their efforts to expel DPRK Nationals living undercover in the PRC, creating a climate of fear along the border and fueling a potentially explosive international refugee crisis. Aid groups on the border say that the number of "food migrants" sent back has at least doubled this year, to as many as 2,000 a month.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that the problem was that a number of the people whom the PRC government call "food migrants" probably meet the criteria for protected political refugee status, which would make their return illegal under international law, but the PRC government is not allowing UN workers to travel to the border to make that determination, even though it has signed related treaties.
It is unclear exactly why the PRC is now making greater efforts to enforce its long-standing policy that the Koreans are economic migrants who must go home, but experts point out that the PRC government are hoping for a visit this year from DPRK leader, Kim Jong-il, and are also fearful that their own resources will be overwhelmed by the growing stream of DPRK arrivals. The UN refugee agency has quietly expressed concern to the PRC about its poor access.
A Western scholar who studies Korea said, "if these people were from Cuba, or Vietnamese boat people, they would absolutely be considered political refugees. But this is very delicate." (Elisabeth Rosenthal, "BEIJING STEPS UP EFFORT TO EXPEL ILLEGAL NORTH KOREAN IMMIGRANTS," Yanji, 5/31/00)
Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim Young-dal, a professor at Kansai University and a human rights activist for DPRK refugees in the PRC, was found dead in his home in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan on Monday. Police are currently investigating his death, which is regarded as suspicious.
Lee Young-hwa, an assistant of Kim, said that he last met with the professor on April 29 and that he seemed in good health. He went on to say that Kim had not received any death threats, but would not rule out the possibility of foul play by interests opposed to Kim's activities. The Japanese police said that Kim's body had multiple stab wounds in the abdomen and that a blood stained sushi knife was found by his head. The death apparently took place two weeks prior to the discovery and police are treating the case as a murder investigation. Officials at the ROK embassy in Tokyo said that the death had not been linked with pro-DPRK groups to date and that they would not be taking any action until the official investigation has been concluded. Chosun Ilbo (Kwon Dae-yol, "HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FOR DPRK REFUGEES KILLED," Seoul, 05/10/00)
The Associated Press reported that Park Sang-bong, secretary-general of the ROK relief group Commission to Help North Korea Refugees, said that the issue of illegal DPRK immigrants in the PRC likely will not arise in June's ROK-DPRK summit talks. Park stated, "Kim Jong Il doesn't want to talk about this problem." Choi Ui-sul, an analyst at the state-funded Research Institute for National Unification in Seoul, argued, "If we push China very hard on this issue, the relationship would get worse." Jana Mason of the Washington-based U.S. Committee for Refugees stated," China is violating its [UN Refugees] convention obligations."
Courtland Robinson, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, said that there are an estimated 50,000 to 150,000 DPRK refugees in the PRC, many of them in and around Tumen city. He added that the number of DPRK citizens crossing into the PRC rises at this time of year because food is scarcer than usual. (Christopher Torchia, "NORTH KOREANS IN CHINA LANGUISH," Seoul, 05/18/00)
Chosun Ilbo reported that the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post said on May 13 that PRC authorities and DPRK agents are carrying out a massive roundup of DPRK refugees before the upcoming visit by DPRK leader Kim Jong-il scheduled for this summer. The report cited underground assistance organizations as saying that the crackdown began on March 15, and that six missionary workers helping the refugees have been either detained or expelled. Others are reportedly missing and may have been taken by DPRK agents. (Ham Young-joon, "CHINA LAUNCHES MASSIVE ROUNDUP OF NK REFUGEES," Beijing, 05/15/00)
Beijing
is hunting down and forcibly expelling thousands of starving North Korean
refugees ahead of a state visit by Kim Jong-il due in July or early August,
sources say. It will be the first foreign visit Mr Kim has made as North
Korean leader. Li Peng, the number two in the Communist Party, will prepare
for the trip during a visit to Pyongyang next month.
"Everyone
is terrified. They are showing no mercy to anyone," said an underground
aid worker on the border, who was forced to turn loose dozens of malnourished
orphans he had been sheltering. "Some families are hiding refugees in
secret cavities or tunnels like Anne Frank," said another source. Since
the campaign started on March 15, six to 20 charity workers, some of them
South Koreans, had been detained or expelled by the Chinese authorities,
sources said. Other aid workers had disappeared, apparently abducted by North
Korean agents.
"I
know of two pastors who disappeared after supposedly going to meet refugees,
and we heard they are now in North Korea," said one source. A diplomat
said: "North Korean agents are very active targeting people in China,
especially those offering the refugees help."
On
Thursday, Kim Young-tal, head of "Rescue the North Korean People", a
non-government organisation running relief operations in China, was found
stabbed to death in his flat in Osaka. Kim, who acquired Japanese citizenship
in 1970, had apparently been dead for two weeks. Residents in Yanbian, the
ethnic Korean prefecture in Jilin province, describe an atmosphere of
intimidation. "Many fear going out at night and South Korean tour groups
are being told to stay away," a diplomatic source said.
Relief
workers think the secret police of both countries are co-ordinating efforts to
expel the North Korean refugees, whose numbers are estimated at anything from
50,000 to 300,000. Observers report that 5,000 refugees have been expelled
across the Tumen Bridge in Yanbian over the past month, with similar numbers
dispatched via other crossings.
"Police told churches it is forbidden to give food or shelter to the refugees. They tell you to turn them in and if you don't, they fine you 30,000 yuan," said one source. A Western expert said that whereas in the past it was mostly men who were targeted, this time women and children were included. (South China Morning Post by Jasper Becker in Beijing. Starving Koreans expelled JASPER BECKER in Beijing Friday, May 12)
The Associated Press reported that reunions of families separated between the DPRK and the ROK are likely to be a prominent topic at the upcoming inter-Korean summit. The report said that the DPRK may agree to reunions, but it is doubtful that it would grant such a favor to DPRK defectors. Regarding June's inter-Korean summit, Kim Ok-ran, a DPRK defector, said, "it's a show directed by Kim Jong Il. If you have lived in the North, you would know." Chang Chung-nam, a student of mass media at a Seoul university, added, "South Koreans are just too excited about the whole thing. They just don't understand how things work in North Korea. Its policy has not changed, only the tactics." However, not all DPRK defectors are negative about the summit. Another DPRK defector said, "although it might not immediately benefit us defectors, I, for one, have great expectations for the summit." (Kyong-hwa Seok, "NKOREA DEFECTORS DOUBTFUL ON SUMMIT," Seoul, 5/23/00)
Ri Ki Won was interviewed by mediapersons at Pyongyang Koryo Hotel today. He majored in engineering at Hanyang University and worked at different enterprises after graduation. Before his defection he was vice-chief for equipment maintenance at a joint tramcar stock company.
Asked what was the motive of his defection, Ri answered he could no longer live in the South Korean society where the fate of a human being is swayed by money. Describing the South Korean society as a place where have-nots can not survive, he said that even his family was compelled to break up. Unable to make ends meet. He termed the South Korean society a cursed one bereft of justice and humanity and an unequal one where the rich become richer and the poor poorer. The South Korean people's longing for the north is growing stronger, he said, stressing: It is their feeling today that South Korea should pursue politics, economy, culture and diplomacy the way leader Kim Jong Il does and he should be president of a unified state.
BEIJING, April 28—China has forcibly returned a group of 60 refugees to North Korea after they protested and rioted over bad treatment in a north-eastern Chinese detention centre, sources said today.
The April 16 riot in a detention centre near the town of Tumen along China's border with North Korea ended when Chinese authorities dispatched 100 armed troops from the People's Armed Police border guard unit to suppress the uprising, an Asian diplomat said. He said some of the refugees were injured during the crackdown, which lasted three days, but no one was killed. By John Pomfret Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, April 29, 2000; Page A22
The riot of North Korean defectors in a detention center in Tumen, China was mentioned in a Washington Post editorial on April 22 (cf. attached file). Thanks to Mr. Carl Gershman who has passed information and is continuing to do so to the wider press, and to Mr. Tim Peters who has sent letter to the UNDP China. According to our local sources in China:
About 80 North Koreans were being detained at the time of the riot, about sixty of whom were women including quite a few pregnant women. The detainees had grabbed hold of the guard’s gun(s) but most had no arms. Although the NK detainees had the gun(s) pointed at the detention center authorities they did not fire a single bullet. Instead, they sang songs about the possible reunification of the two Koreas, and staged a peaceful demonstration pleading not to be returned to North Korea.
Meanwhile, support forces were sent to quell the uprising. The Chinese officers were authorized to shoot if necessary but below the waist only. A number of the rioters were injured in their encounter with the Chinese officers and are now receiving medical treatment.
None of the insurgents has been sent back to North Korea as yet. They are under investigation. The lives of some eighty innocent people are in danger. If we do not act to stop their repatriation, it may be misinterpreted as the world’s indifference to the fate of North Korean refugees and a silent permission to continue the practice.Based on Secretary-General Ms. Youngja KIM’s trip to China, we informed you that the crackdown on NK defectors by the Chinese police has been reinforced substantially. Another of our sources has communicated to us that some 5,000 North Koreans have been repatriated in March only. Each policeman is given a quota of how many North Korean defectors they must arrest. The problem with this kind of information is that they are rarely verifiable and the original source is either unknown or must be kept in the dark for the safety of the person and others who work with her/him. All we can say is that many of the local helpers in China say similar things. Even if concrete evidence is unavailable, we believe that this kind of information is still important and needs to be disseminated.
Joongang Ilbo reported that for the first time, the ROK government has shifted its policy on DPRK defectors in the PRC and Russia referring to them as "refugees" instead of "escapees." This is the first time that the ROK officially took a position on the status of DPRK defectors and aid for them.
A Foreign Ministry official in Seoul commenting on the change said, "We have decided to call them refugees because most of DPRK escapees in eastern China are running away from hunger or governmental surveillance. We will seek appropriate protection for them under international law, such as the convention on refugees, from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) and related international organizations." Meanwhile, ROK Ambassador to Geneva Chang Man-soon, speaking at the UN Human Rights Committee's 56th session in Geneva, stated, "Those who can be categorized as 'refugees' should be protected by international agreements on humanitarian grounds." The shift in policy is a preview of the ROK government's future strategy on the refugee issue. The government believes it is better to refer to the DPRK defectors as refugees to enhance their bargaining position in the event of another forcible return to the DPRK. Joongang Ilbo (Lee Yong-jong, "SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT TERMS NORTH KOREAN DEFECTORS AS 'REFUGEES'," Seoul, 03/30/00)
Vice-chairman of the Pyongyang city people's committee Choe Yun Sik in his welcome address warmly welcomed them in the name of the Pyongyang citizens, saying their defection was a due resistance against the South Korean society which has been turned into a living hell by the harsh colonial rule and corrupt politics of the U.S. and their stooges. Ro Chol Ho in his reply referred to the honour of being awarded a state order and his emotion of receiving a large sum of prize money though he did nothing for the country and the nation. He extended warmest thanks to the great leader Kim Jong Il for opening a way of his rebirth and giving him a true life.
The Korea Times reported that the ROK's Yonhap News Agency said on February 6 that hundreds of female DPRK agents are conducting espionage activities in PRC big cities. The report quoted informed military intelligence sources and estimated the number of female DPRK spies at 600 to 700.
Yonhap said most of them come from well-established families and graduated from top universities in the DPRK. The report said, "they are believed to have received specialized training at a spy unit under the auspices of North Korea's Communist Party." The report said the female agents often pose as ethnic Koreans in the PRC and work at restaurants or karaoke bars in big PRC cities such as Beijing and Shenyang to spy on ROK and Japanese businessmen and government officials. The report said, "some were trained at a spy school in Shenyang established by North Korea." However, Yonhap said that the ROK had yet to confirm which of the Communist Party's several spy units was in charge of training these agents. An intelligence official said, "what is clear is that they are controlled by the Communist Party." The Korea Times ("HUNDREDS OF FEMALE NK AGENTS SPYING IN CHINA," Seoul, 02/06/00)
07.05.97. Тысячи северных корейцев, спасаясь от поразившего страну голодного мора, хлынули в соседний Китай - об этом ежедневно твердят зарубежные средства массовой информации. В краевой администрации, по неофициальным данным, всерьез озабочены перспективой массового перехода голодных людей из соседней страны на территорию Приморья. Расследование, которое провели журналисты “В”, наталкивает на мысль: массовый исход корейцев в Приморье - это далеко не самое страшное, что может случиться в ближайшее время в нашем регионе. (in Russian)